2017 is the year of our Lorde (real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor), and rightfully so. The New Zealand-born singer has been taking over the festival circuit with electrifying and legendary performances since the release of her sophomore album Melodrama. It was the pop star’s highly anticipated follow-up to her debut album Pure Heroine, which explored the exquisite madness that comes with being a young person. Although it was a long three years between releases, once the album premiered on June 16, Ella proved it was well worth the wait. And it’s the gift that keeps giving. This afternoon, the video for “Perfect Places” dropped.
For one of the more upbeat songs on Melodrama, Lorde takes us to a remote island location. Directed by Grant Singer (who also directed the video for “Green Light”), it’s a theatrical tour de force with nature’s elements as Lorde’s only co-stars. The clip starts with Lorde wandering through a vast green wilderness while wearing a Jacquemus conical hat and carrying a machete.
Another scene shows her reflecting near the ocean in a red silk kimono coat, before swinging back and forth from a tree in a white tulle princess dress. The celebratory spirit of the song is best captured when she dances around a raging fire. She even manages to take a drink as she floats in a pond under the cover of rain. It’s a picture perfect setting for embracing one’s solitude — paradise, party of 1.
“Perfect Places” has already been making its way around late night TV talk shows. For her appearance on Jimmy Fallon, Lorde performed the song after a sit-down interview where she was outed as the onion ring connoisseur behind the Instagram account @onionringsworldwide. More recently, she offered a soulful rendition of the track on Late Night With Seth Meyers with the help of a choir dressed in matching tracksuits. While we wait to see what Lorde blesses us with next, feed your inner wanderlust by watching the video above.
Want to really get to know Lorde? Watch her i-D meets Lorde video below.
Credits
Text Abraham Martinez
Video via YouTube